China is a production superpower and Chinese markets enthrall importers from far and wide. Since this country manufactures a hefty portion of the world’s consumer products, importing from China is a proven tactic for global sourcing.
Chinese markets are bustling with tons of suppliers who can fulfill your business requirements and let you earn huge profit margins.
While this presents a fantastic opportunity for business owners around the world, the process is not as simple as it may sound. Expected gains are often lost in the dark with long transit times, delays, and high shipping charges.
But don’t lose hope as we are here to help. Keep scrolling below and the guide will walk you through some practical tips and tricks to import ride-on tows from China smoothly. Follow the steps religiously and source the best products to grow your business.
1. Identify if you are qualified to import from China.
Before jumping into the toys’ importing process, you must verify whether you are eligible or qualified to make a purchase from China or not.
To begin the import, businessmen need to prepare a valid budget that opens doors of opportunities for them. Remember that the budget value depends on the business models and varies accordingly.
For example, if you have a budget of $100 for dropshipping business, you can easily spend $29 on creating a business website and use the rest of the amount in social advertisement to promote the business.
Since creating social awareness is a crucial part of every business, you need to allocate a bigger portion to it while cutting down costs from all other segments.
Businessmen who are planning to launch new brand products would require anywhere between $1000 – $10,000, depending on their needs. Get a budget of $1000 – $2000 for products that don’t need a mold.
However, you need to keep the big amount, say $5000 to $10,000 for those products that need to be customized and require a specific mold for production. These high-range products might include stainless steel cups, plastic cosmetic bottles, and more.
Get ready to invest around $2000 or more if you own mature e-commerce business. Hunt for a real manufacturer who can produce excellent quality items at a reasonable price.
All and All, businessmen need a budget of $1000 or so to import ride-on toys or other products from China as most Chinese manufacturers typically set a value of $1000 as a minimum purchasing order.
2. Learn what products are good to import from China.
Once you become qualified to import products from China, the second important step is to learn about different items available on the Chinese market and how to make the rightmost choice.
It’s no wonder that the China Market is packed with a plethora of products; hence selecting the best among the rest might be an intimidating task, especially for new customers.
While good products help you earn eye-catching profits, bad or unwanted items definitely hit your pocket hard. Therefore, choosing an ideal product that meets your business requirement while being easy on the pocket is crucial.
- Walk through the following considerations and make a wise choice.
- Stick to your requirements: The very first thing is to stay focussed and keep your business requirements and budget in mind. While the products will entice you, do not fall into the trap and order the products that actually bring profit to your business.
- Don’t run after the “trend”: Trending products are like fleeting fads, which create a buzz at the moment and will then get lost in the dark. Broaden your vision and stick to the evergreen products that will help you earn excellent profit margins in the future. These trending items might benefit the business giants, they will surely prove meaningless for new entrepreneurs.
- Low-value products are a big NO: As a rule of thumb, always import expensive and high-value from China as they will let you save a huge delivery expense while adding more profits to your bank account. Low-value products, on the other hand, cost a heavy shipping fee, making all your efforts of saving a few bucks null and void.
3. Verify if products are profitable & allowed to import to your country
So, you have chosen the rightmost products that you wish to import, it’s time to conduct thorough research to check whether they are profitable or not. Check the cost of each unit and do not forget to add the shipping charges.
The shipping cost is around $6 – $7 for 1Kg if your package exceeds 20kg. Along with shipping, businesses also keep import tariffs and sample costs into account.
Calculate everything and ensure that whatever product you are importing will help you earn decent benefit margins. Additionally, before finalizing any product or package, check whether your country allows importing those selected items from China or not. Conduct complete research to avoid any hassle in the future.
4. Search for Chinese suppliers online via Alibaba, Aliexpress, Google, DHgate, etc.
- Finding a genuine Chinese supplier who exports high-quality products at a reasonable price might be challenging. Hence, businesses can use three selective platforms to hunt for the rightmost person. These are – Trade Websites, SNS, and Google.
- Trade Websites: The internet is packed with numerous B2B trade websites like Aliexpress, Alibaba, and more. However, the choice depends on your budget. If you are importing the goods for the first time and your order is below $100, opt for Aliexpress.DHgate is an ideal platform for those businesses who are going to place an order between $100 – and $1000. If you have a good budget and looking for long-term business, consider choosing Alibaba.
- SNS: Social Media is yet another good platform to look for Chinese Suppliers. Use LinkedIn, Quora, or Facebook to learn more about the verified options and decide whether choosing them is worth it or not.
- Google: Google is the largest search engine and is the most idealistic option to find the best supplier without putting in much effort. Check the individual websites of the suppliers and make a wise decision.
5. Hunt for Chinese suppliers via trade fairs, wholesale markets, and industrial clusters.
If the above channels won’t find you the desired supplier, don’t lose heart and try searching them via trade shows, wholesale markets, and industrial clusters.
China Market hosts several trade fairs every year where Chinese suppliers showcase their products. Consider attending Canton Fair and try to find your desired option.
Industrial Cluster is an idyllic place to go if you want to connect with the manufacturer directly. Here, importers will find a mind-boggling number of manufacturers who produce the same type of products.
Wholesale markets are yet another go-to place for importers. Visit the Yiwu market and Guangzhou market and try hunting for the best suppliers.
6. Evaluate the supplier’s background to ensure it’s trustworthy
Once you have selected the best Chinese supplier that fits all your requirements, it’s time to cross-check his background to avoid falling into the trap.
Remember that all suppliers guarantee premium-quality products but not everyone will live up to their words. Hence, it is your sole responsibility to check their background and ensure to find a trustworthy companion to expand your business.
A good and reliable supplier is a vital component for any business to grow; hence run a background check before signing a contract or placing an order. Don’t forget to check their business history and see how many years the supplier has been serving the industry. Also, verify whether he is stable in one product category or not and decide accordingly.
Also, the suppliers must have the relevant product certificates, especially for products like electronic items and toys. Make sure to check those certifications and make the best choice.
7. Get product quotes based on trade terms
- Every market or business has certain specific terms that importers must be mindful of to get the best product quotes. These trade terms greatly influence the quotation; hence you should know about them before ordering the product A few of them are listed here.
- FOB Quote: It includes the original product price, shipping cost for delivering the goods to your designated airport or seaport, and export processing fee.
- EXW Quote: This term quotes the product price only. Under this term, suppliers are not responsible for shipping charges. It means that importers have to arrange the pick-up service to bring the products. While this might be cost-effective for well-established businesses that have their own forwarders in China, it is strictly not recommended for newbies.
- CIF Quote: It comprises the original product price, shipping cost from the supplier’s warehouse to your country, insurance charges, and exporting process fee. Remember that importers can claim insurance if their whole package gets missing.
8. Choose the best supplier via price, sample, communication, and service.
Picking the most appropriate supplier is the basic need of the business; hence, importers should follow all the key points to locate the best option that helps them earn huge profit margins.
- Keep these five elements into concern while making a choice.
- Price: It is something that makes or breaks your decision. Conduct research to find the price of a specific product in the market and choose the supplier whose price matches the market value. Never go for an option that offers products at a too low or too high cost.
- Sample Quality: Do not hesitate to ask for the samples to check the original quality of their products. Sometimes, suppliers promise the best quality items but are unable to live up to their words.
- Communication is the key: Good and clear communication is essential especially if you are searching for a supplier to fulfill your long-term business requirements. Choose a supplier who is professional and understands your requirements immediately.
- Service Quality: There’s no point in investing in a Chinese Supplier who takes too long to deliver your products. Go for the option that has a good track record of making timely deliveries.
- Shipping Charges: If you are depending on suppliers for shipping too, then make sure to compare the product and shipping charges of different suppliers and make a wise decision.
9. Confirm payment terms before placing the order
You and the supplier must be on the same page when it comes to the payment terms. Hence, before signing any contract, you should discuss the common payment norms with your supplier to avoid any mess later on.
These payment terms help maintain a continuous cash flow while keeping business smooth and hassle-free.
- The common international payment terms that you should know about are mentioned here.
- 30% deposit and 70% balance before exporting the shipment
- No Deposit and the whole balance will be cleared against the Bill of Landing
- 30% deposit and 70% balance against the Bill of Landing
- O/A payments
10. Choose the best shipping solution according to time & cost preference.
Once you and your supplier agree on the payment terms, the next step is to choose the best shipping solution. There are plenty of shipping methods available, such as Courier, Railway Freight, Air Freight, Sea Freight, Sea/ AirFreight Plus Courier, and Economic Shipping.
While sea freight is good for big volumes, Economic Shipping is an ideal choice for extremely low volume shipments (less than 2kg). Importers must select the rightmost option depending on their budget and shipment.
11. Handle custom clearance, and deliver products to doorstep.
The whole efforts of finding a supplier, choosing a product, and discussing the payment terms will go in vain if you cannot handle the custom clearances. Importers should be well-acquainted with essential documents needed to complete the customs clearance process.
- The whole efforts of finding a supplier, choosing a product, and discussing the payment terms will go in vain if you cannot handle the custom clearances. Importers should be well-acquainted with essential documents needed to complete the customs clearance process.
- Origin certificate
- Contract
- Bill of Landing
- Commercial Invoice
- Packing List
You need not worry about the export process as the supplier will take care of it. Remember that you have to pay the customs duties but the standard varies according to products and countries.
Conclusion
So, that’s all about the step-by-step guide to importing ride-on toys and other products from China. We hope our in-depth research will definitely ease your way and help you choose better products while being easy on your pockets.
Always conduct thorough research on the supplier, make yourself aware of the international payment terms, and get the documents ready for custom clearances.